


these walls come falling down for you

by rapsandcass



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Post-Canon, Romance, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapsandcass/pseuds/rapsandcass
Summary: etheria is at peace, and catra and adora come together.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 468





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so i haven't written fic in like 8 years.   
> this is just a little fluff i'm getting off my chest, post she-ra finale. there's no real coherent plot or anything. just a few snippets of life for catra and adora. this first chapter takes place in the first days after the finale.  
> i have at least three more chapters planned. the second will be posted tonight. the third is a smut chapter. and the fourth takes place more into the future. i plan on posting the third and fourth at the same time. that way if smut isn't your thing, you can skip to the last chapter. and if it is, you get two chapters for the price of one!

“-And Catra, this is your room. It’s right down the hall from Adora’s.” Glimmer says cheerily, gesturing her open hand to the door in front of her. Catra gives her a small smile, hand in hand with Adora as they come to a stop in front of the doorway. “It’s a standard room, bed, dresser, waterfall, the basics.” 

Catra shifts her eyes towards Adora. “Waterfall?” she mouths in confusion. 

Adora squeezes her hand in response. “I’ll explain later.” she says quietly. 

Catra brings her head back towards Glimmer. “Thanks, Sparkles.” 

“Oh!” Glimmer points a finger up. “There’s some pajamas and basic toiletries in the first drawer and if you need  _ anything _ , most of the guards have returned to their posts, they can get you what you need. And of course you’ve got Adora, she knows her way around the castle.” she offers. 

Adora hesitates. “Uh, yeah.” she says with a breathy laugh. 

Glimmer is quiet, expecting Catra to say goodnight and head into her room. But her and Adora say still at the door frame, hands still clasped. Catra rubs her thumb up and down Adora’s nervously. 

It’s quiet for a beat too long. 

“Well,” Glimmer starts. “I’ll let you two get settled.” Catra notices her throw a knowing smile at Adora before heading down to hall to her own room. 

Catra looks at Adora. “You know your way around this giant maze?” 

“Not really.” she confesses. “I usually just keep walking around until I find where I need to be.” She starts walking towards her own room, gently pulling Catra along. 

“Hey!” Catra gives a mild protest. “Where are we going?” 

“My room!” she says. As if it's the most obvious thing in the world. She looks back at Catra. “You don’t want to spend your first night in Bright Moon on your own, do you?” 

“Well, no-”

Adora’s smirks. “Come on, I’ve got extra clothes for you to sleep in and all my pillows have been defluffed!” 

Catra eyes widen in genuine curiosity. “Wait, you have more than one pillow here?” 

“Oh, yeah! It’s a real upgrade from the Fright Zone.” The blonde pushes open her bedroom door, bringing Catra inside with her. It's a weird feeling, having Catra here in Bright Moon with her. She sometimes pictured Catra here with her. Most of the time those daydreams had Catra in the “spare room”, Adora pleading for her to join the rebellion. She never imagined Catra would be here willingly, let alone hand in hand with her. 

Catra lets her hand fall out of Adora’s as she stands at the front of the room, looking around and marveling at the high ceilings and colorful fabrics draping from them. The room is a plethora of open space and ornate furniture. “Whoa.” she lets out in disbelief. 

“I know, right?” Adora responds, heading to the bureau to get them both something to sleep in. She grabs some clothes and turns back in Catra’s direction. “It takes a while to get used to.” 

She watches Catra walk towards the open window, her face adorned with a soft expression of wonder. Windows in the Horde base were hard to come by and an open window was unheard of. Catra spent a lot of time sneaking up to the high balconies and walkways of their old home, the open view always invoking a bit of hope for a bigger world waiting for them beyond the edges of the Fright Zone.

Adora pauses for a moment, smiling at her. 

She comes up behind her, wrapping her strong arms around Catra’s middle. “I can’t believe you’re actually here, in Bright Moon.” 

“That makes two of us.” she laughs, overlapping Adora’s hands with her own. 

Adora squeezes her a bit, tucking her head into the crook of Catra’s neck. The two of them share a comfortable silence, looking out at the star filled skies of their planet that were once empty. 

Catra twists in her hold, facing her. She brings her arms up and around Adora’s shoulders, linking them behind her neck. There’s a softness in both of their faces when their eyes meet and Catra is the one to close the distance between them. She presses her lips to Adora’s gently. After a moment, Catra brings her palms to Adora’s jawline and deepens the kiss. To her delight, Adora responds with matching eagerness, gripping her hips as Catra playfully nips at her lower lip. 

Adora still can’t believe they’re doing this, that she gets to hold Catra like this, gets to feel her claws lightly scratch against her cheeks, her eyelashes tickle her cheeks. But just as Catra’s hands start to drag down Adora’s neck, towards her collarbones, the worst possible feeling overcomes Adora. She scrunches her nose to repress the inevitable, but it’s too late. 

She lets out a loud yawn. 

Catra looks overly unimpressed when Adora opens her eyes. She quirks an eyebrow. “Sorry, am I  _ boring _ you?”

Adora is quick to take her hands in hers. “No! No! Not at all! It's just been such an exhausting few days and I think it's all catching up to me-” she says, a little too desperately. 

Catra holds her eyes tight on Adora for a moment. Then cracks a smile. 

Adora’s face eases. It’s only been a few hours since she defeated Horde Prime. Glimmer had insisted on them spending the night in the Bright Moon palace after months of sleeping in camps and spaceship cots. She-ra’s powers had rid the palace of previous Horde destruction and the sun had set for the first time on a new, magic filled Etheria. 

But the exhaustion was truly catching up with her and she hated her body for betraying her brain’s desire to keep Catra as close to her as possible. 

“Let’s get some sleep, we’ve got the rest of our lives for me to kiss you into boredom.” Catra says, giving Adora’s hips a final squeeze turning to grab the clothes on the bed. 

“The rest of our lives, hm?” Adora teases.

Catra lets out a dramatic squawk, shoving Adora’s clothes at her chest. “You know what I mean!” Catra retorts. 

Adora accepts her pajamas, smug grin refusing to leave her face. “Yeah, I think it means you want to be with me forever or something?” 

“Ugh, what have I gotten myself into?” Catra grumbles, refusing to meet eyes with Adora as she starts undressing. 

Not a thought is put into changing in front of Adora, they’ve done it their whole lives. She drops her own clothes into a pile on the floor and puts on the soft cotton set. She can’t remember a time she wore something this loose, having lived her whole life in tight, conforming Horde uniforms. For the first time in a while, Catra feels like she can breathe. She thinks there’s more than one reason for that. 

Adora folds her clothes neatly and places them back in the dresser. She climbs into bed, adjusting her pillow a bit before reaching over to adjust the pillows in the space next to her. When she turns back, Catra is standing over her. She looks down at Adora and shoots her a wicked smirk before jumping over her into the empty space next to her, making sure she gets a quick face full of her tail. Adora laughs and gives her a playful smack. 

Both womens bodies turn to the middle of the bed, a mess of limbs reaching out to hold each other as they settle into the cushions. Catra lets her head settle on Adora’s chest and hooks her bare leg in between Adora’s. 

“You know,” Catra whispers. “You’re kind of amazing.” 

Adora hums. “Yes, keep saying things.” 

“Ugh,” she rolls her eyes. “And obnoxious.” She gives her thigh a small scratch with the claws of her foot. “But really. I mean, you saved the universe Adora.” 

The blonde can barely believe it herself. It had felt like an impossible task at times, with dire consequences. And now she was safe, their whole planet was safe, and she had the love of her life wrapped in her arms. 

“Thank you for staying with me, in the heart.” Adora turns her head slightly, lips pressing against Catra’s forehead. “I hate that you risked your safety, but I really needed you.” Her eyes feel heavy and her body lighter. 

Catra hums softly in agreement. “Goodnight, Adora.”

She fights sleep long enough to whisper back, “Night, Catra.”

++

The sunlight coming through the glass windows hits the sheets of Adora’s bed, warming the two occupants in the early morning. 

Catra wakes up slowly, feeling soft fingers brushing up and down her arm and feeling a pair of eyes on her before she even opens hers. She keeps her own eyes shut, reveling in Adora’s stare for a few quiet moments. Then she breaks their silence.

“Why are you staring at me like a creep?” she pipes, a smile flickering across her face. 

Adora hums a laugh, her hand rising from Catra’s arm and coming to place on her cheek, below her ear. “You look so peaceful when you sleep, you’re beautiful.” She says the last two words softly, to assure that Catra is the only being in the universe able to hear her. She sounds astonished, that the other woman is in front of her, letting her gaze at her so intimately.

A pink tint paints Catra’s cheeks as she blushes. “Ugh!” she lets out a groan, pushing a hand to Adora’s face. “Shut up.” she whispers 

Adora laughs, gripping Catra’s wrists to stop any further attack. She keeps Catra’s hands in her hold at her face. Catra peeks her eyes open, taking in Adora’s reverent stare. Her blush deepens. 

Adora takes this moment of quiet to twist Catra’s hands ever so slightly and place a delicate kiss to her wrist. Catra thinks her whole face is red at this point. 

“Let’s go get breakfast.” Adora suggests. “They make the best jam! You’re gonna love it.” Catra watches her face light up and before Adora can get herself out of bed, she takes her face in her hands and brings her down for a kiss. 

Now Adora’s cheeks are tinged with pink and Catra is happy that they’re even. 

“I don’t even know what jam is but if it's not a ration bar, I’m sure it’s gonna be great.” They get themselves out of bed and change into their regular clothes. The two spend a few minutes in the bathroom together, Adora putting her hair in a ponytail while Catra brushes her teeth. Their hips shove together playfully as they share the vanity mirror. 

Catra heads out of the bathroom, turning back towards Adora to throw her a mischievous smile. “Come here.” She reaches her hand out at her. It's second nature for Adora to take it. Catra pulls her in, kissing her deeply. They stay like that for a few seconds before Adora gets a little brave. She breaks from Catra’s mouth for a second before peppering kisses across her jawline and to the top of her neck. Catra’s head drops back, giving her open space. There’s a satisfied smile on her face as Adora grazes her teeth along her skin. Catra feels a bit like she’s on fire at this new sensation. 

But her moment of pleasure is cut short when she feels a slight change in the air. Her ears twitch towards the middle of the room as a gust of magic transports Glimmer into Adora’s bedroom. 

“Adora, do you think we should wake Catra up or let her-” The queen is talking to the empty bed when she arrives, expecting her to be there. 

Adora had sprung a 3 foot distance at her friend teleporting into her room. “Glimmer!” she exclaims and Catra can hear the nerves coat her voice. 

“Oh!” Glimmer says unexpectedly. “She’s...already here.” 

She’s giving them an innocent smile, looking between the two. Catra can see a wheel start to turn in her head, but stops her. “Yeah. I just came in a few minutes ago so Adora could show me where to get breakfast.” she answers smoothly. 

“Yeah!” Adora offers, a little too eagerly. Catra’s eyes widen as she suppresses the urge to roll them. 

“Breakfast is all set in the dining hall. Chef made these amazing chocolate buns and strawberry glaze. I think he’s in a real celebratory mood today, we’ve got so many sweets.” Glimmer brings her clasped hands up to her chest. “I can teleport us there!”

“No!” Catra exclaims before even realizing it. She catches herself, taking a breath. “Sorry, but-”

“Oh, right! Yeah, teleporting on an empty stomach isn’t a great idea.” 

Catra breathes a laugh, moving to Adora to take her hand. “I think Adora and I will just walk, get myself a little more familiar with the palace.” Out of instinct, Catra’s head runs with strategies of counting doors, checking for insecure infrastructure, and finding all close possible exits. It's a hard habit to break. 

“Great idea!” she smiles. “Well, I left Bow with some fresh cinnamon muffins so I better get back before he devours them all.” Glimmer says, sounding a little annoyed, but she’s got a fond look in her eye. 

And as fast as she was there, she was gone. 

“Ugh.” Catra turns to Adora. “Does she do that a lot?” 

Adora grins. “Kind of.” she confesses. “Honestly, it’s never really been a big problem until-” 

“-Until you needed a reason for some privacy?” 

She snorts “Uh, yeah. Sorry...I know you were enjoying it.” Adora gives her a cocky smile. 

“Shut up!” Catra retorts. “Come on, let's go get some food before your ego gets as big as your hair poof.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> catra has a nightmare. bow and glimmer are adora's best friends, but they're some times the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're on the east coast, then im 35 minutes late. anyway!  
> i like this chapter better than the first. i wanted to keep it light and a little steamy.   
> i might have taken some liberties with bright moon architecture, i don't think anyone will notice.   
> and yes, "what sound does an arrow make while flying through the air" is now my most recent google search.

Adora expects to feel a warm body when she reaches her hand out in the middle of the night, but finds Catra’s side of the bed empty. She raises her head up, looking around the bedroom. It takes a minute for her eyes to adjust in the darkness. The balcony door is open and she can see an ear peeking out from the doorframe. Without a second thought, she drags her tired body out of bed. It feels like the easiest thing in the world right now. She wraps herself in a fluffy blanket and walks her barefoot across the room to the balcony entrance. 

Catra is sitting on the marble, feet over the edge. The sky is dark, stars littering the horizon and the moons’ reflections the only source of light. She’s looking up at the night sky while her hand rests on Melog next to her, gently petting his head. She’s heard Adora approaching her since she got out of bed. 

“I couldn’t sleep, I’m fine.” Catra answers without Adora asking. She turns her head towards the blonde but doesn’t meet her eye. 

Adora doesn’t say anything, just takes a seat next to her and opens an arm, wrapping Catra in her arms. Catra’s head falls on her shoulder as they’re both engulfed in the soft blanket. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” There’s some bite to her response. She takes a deep breath. “It was just a nightmare. I couldn’t fall back asleep. Wanted some fresh air.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Catra pauses. She tucks her nose into Adora’s neck. “No.” 

Adora hums. 

“Later.” Catra lets out. She’s trying, she really is, but she still finds it so difficult to be vulnerable and open. It's a little less painful with Adora. “I’ll talk about it later. I just-” Adora can hear how strained she sounds. “Not right now. Please.” 

“Okay.” Adora says. She twists her head and presses a kiss to Catra’s hair. 

Turning her whole body, she adjusts the blanket off herself to wrap it around Catra completely. “I’m getting us some tea.”

“No, Adora! You have that stupid princess alliance meeting tomorrow.” she protests. “Sparkles will kill me if you’re yawning the entire time.” 

“That meeting doesn’t matter. You do.” she says simply, not stopping her stride to the kitchen. 

Catra watches her walk through the doors and turns back to the sky. Melog puts the weight of his head on her thigh, letting out a small noise. She smiles. “I know. It’s nice.”

Adora is back in a few minutes. Catra accepts the warm mug, inviting her back into the warmth of the blanket. Adora reaches into her shirt pocket, pulling out a sugar biscuit Melog enjoys and offering it to him. He takes it in one bite and licks the crumbs off her hand.

“I’m serious. Glimmer is going to blame  _ me _ if you’re tired tomorrow.” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll fight her off!”

Catra bites back a laugh. “Oh, you’re gonna fight her?” 

“Yeah, I’m-” she holds an imaginary sword in her hand, thrusting back and forth. “Whoosh, whooo..She-ra!”

“Wow.” Catra deadpans. “Scary. How are you bad at impersonating yourself?”

They both share a moment of laughter. When Catra notices Adora is looking at her with a soft expression, she pauses. It catches Catra off guard for a second. 

“Hey.” Catra reaches between them and takes Adora’s free hand in hers. “Thanks. For the tea, and for checking on me.” 

“Of course.” Adora responds sweetly. She rests her head on Catra’s shoulder, sips her tea, and tucks the blanket tighter between them. Catra purrs.

Adora doesn’t feel as tired as she should be. She’s embracing these moments she gets with Catra, learning to forget what it’s like to miss her. 

“Let’s get you back to bed.” Catra says after a while. 

Adore gives her small whines of protest. “No. I wanna stay with you.”

“I’ll go back to bed with you!” Catra assures her. “Now, lets go.” She takes her empty mug and Adora’s half empty mug and places them on the balcony. Keeping the blanket wrapped around their shoulders, she leads them both into the dark bedroom, Melog close behind them. 

Once in bed, Catra lays on her back, bringing Adora’s body on top of hers. It’s been fun the last few nights, figuring out what sleeping positions they both like. Catra prefers sleeping low, her head against Adora’s stomach, arms wrapped around her and their legs intertwined. Adora loves being the big spoon, feeling Catra pressed up tight against her. 

Right now, Catra just wants to hold Adora. 

**++**

Morning comes and Catra hasn’t gotten much sleep. She occupied the night with running her fingers through Adora’s hair and letting her eyes dance across the ceiling drapery. When that grew boring, which it quickly did, she counted the freckles on Adora’s arms; she has 46. 

Adora eventually wakes up for her meeting. The princess alliance has no need for war strategies but Glimmer insists on them gathering once a month to make sure recovery is going well. Most of the princess are focusing on providing resources to Scorpia while she rebuilds the Fright Zone as her family’s kingdom. Adora is working with her to help displaced Horde soldiers find a new place in the world. 

Rolling out of her embrace, she notices Catra is awake. “Did you get any sleep last night?” 

“A little.” Catra shrugs, opening her arms for Melog to replace Adora’s spot on her chest. 

“Maybe I should skip the meeting.” Adora offers.

“Don’t skip the meeting.” Catra insists sincerely. She scratches behind Melog’s ears. “Maybe without your snoring, I’ll get a few hours.” Catra’s not sure if she would ever admit that Adora’s soft snores have helped lull her to sleep ever since they were children. 

Adora makes an indignant noise. “I...hardly snore!”

“Keep telling yourself that.” 

Adora narrows her eyes at Catra, sticking out her tongue. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. We’ll eat lunch in the garden.” She leans down to meet her lips in a quick kiss. 

**++**

Catra wakes up to the door loudly opening. Before she can even process being awake, a dramatic groan carries through the room. Her eyes haven’t even opened yet when a mess of muscles and blonde hair lands fully on top of her. 

“Ah! Hey!” Catra attempts to move the deadweight of her girlfriend off of her. “You’re crushing me!”

Adora ignores her. “That meeting was soooooo boring.” She drags out every word. “Perfuma spent half of it trying to come up with names for all the new magic plants. It was  _ torture. _ ” 

“Get. Off. Me.” Catra punctuates each word by pushing at her back, trying to nudge her off. 

Adora can tell Catra is being dramatic and does nothing to help, instead starfishing herself and going even more limp, making it harder for Catra to move her. Adora lets out a pathetic whine. “No. Melog is taking up my space in bed, you have to share.” 

Catra peeks out from under Adora’s arm to see Melog spread out comfortably next to her. His ears twitch, unfazed by their antics. 

Catra lets out a defeated sigh. “That won’t be a problem after you slowly crush me to death.” 

Adora laughs at her and in a quick movement, flips herself so she’s laying at Catra’s side, holding her tight from behind. “There. Better?” Her ankles hook around her girlfriend’s.

“Mmphf.” is all she gets out of her. 

She kisses the back of her neck. “Hey, Bow mentioned you asked him to teach you some archery.” 

Catra has her eyes closed, still chasing the warmth of sleep she was in minutes before Adora threw herself on top of her. Her response is a noise of affirmation. 

“That’s a nice bonding activity.”

“It is  _ not _ a ‘bonding activity’.” she responds in disgust. “I figured it would be a nice outlet to let off some steam.”

Adora gives her shoulder a small bite. 

“Ugh, fine. Maybe if we “bond” at some point, it’ll kill two birds with one stone.” 

She lets out a satisfied hum. It makes her immensely happy seeing Catra try to build a stronger relationship with her friends. She really can’t wait for her to meet Huntara. 

For reasons she can’t explain, thinking about Catra getting along with her friends ignites something in Adora. She peppers kisses along the side of her neck, her hands roam along her stomach. Catra twists in Adora’s arms to face her. Without a word, she plants her lips on hers in a short kiss. Adora tastes like those honey buns they had at breakfast the other day; they must have had them at the meeting, she knows Adora can’t resist them. Her eyes stay on her face for a few moments, content to just watch her eyelashes kiss the top of her cheeks with every blink. 

As her eyes fall down to Adora’s lips she realizes the blonde is pulling her closer, hand sneaking below the fabric of her waistband. Her eyes rise back up to meet Adora’s who’s gentle expression has suddenly turned lustful. 

“One sec.” Catra whispers. She moves to sit upright, petting a hand across Melog’s face. “Hey buddy, why don’t you go find Swift Wind for a bit.” He gives her a curious look. She raises a brow at him. After letting out a low noise, he flashes across the room and right out the open balcony doorway. 

Catra lowers herself back down and attaches her lips to Adora’s. She’s content with softly kissing her, occasionally nipping at her lower lip. Until she’s not. She wants to try more, she wants to make Adora feel good. So she coaxes her mouth open enough for her tongue to gain access. She finds Adora’s with her own and licks at her mouth, getting a surprised squeal from her that turns into a satisfied moan. 

Catra smiles against her lips at the sound. Her hands roam down the length of Adora’s hips. She realizes Adora’s hands are traveling the opposite direction. They’re spread wide, exploring the area above her toned stomach. They break the kiss for a moment, Catra has a plea at the tip of her tongue, ready to give Adora permission to touch her in new places. Her voice is low and breathy “Adora...”

And then-

_**TWISH** _

**THUCK**

“Aack!” Adora rolls them over so she’s on top of Catra, fully shielding her from a potential attack. 

“Get off of me.” Catra says, unphased. 

Adora is in panic mode opposite Catra’s calm demeanor. “What was that? It sounded like an arrow.” 

“It was.” Catra answers. Adora looks down at Catra and notices she’s looking back up towards Adora, but not  _ at _ her. She follows her eyeline behind her. Sticking out from the wall a foot above them is a golden arrow, a colorfully decorated note attached to the end of the shaft. 

“Oh.” Adora lets out a relieved breath, pushing herself off Catra as she reaches up and rips the note off the arrow. “It’s for you.” 

Catra gives her a puzzled look and Adora responds with a shrug, handing her the paper. The front is decorated with a drawing of Catra in one corner and Bow in the other. There are gold and silver sparkles framing both charicturies. She opens the note to find hearts littering the open space in the letter. It’s addressed to her, her name written in alternating pink and purple letters and “1/4th of the BFS” is in parenthesis next to it. At the bottom “Ready for practice?” is written out in Bow’s fancy script. 

“BFS?” she questions out loud. 

“Best Friend Squad.” Adora answers with a smug grin. “You’re one of us, remember.” She’s expecting a mild growl from her girlfriend but is surprised to see a ghost of a smile tug at her lips. It compels Adora to lean over and give her a sweet kiss on her forehead. 

“So we should expect more of these interruptions?” 

Before Adora can answer a loud voice is shouting Catra’s name from below the balcony. A loud groan escapes Catra’s mouth before the brunette gets up and heads for the open doorway. 

“What, Bow?” she shouts downwards. 

Bow is standing below the balcony, cupping his hands in an effort to make his voice louder. “Did you get my note?” 

Catra holds up a fistful of paper. “Uh, yeah. Hard to miss an arrow shot above the bed.” 

“Good!” he says joyously. “Glimmer said you were probably in Adora’s room. But I shot a note through your bedroom too just in case.”

“Great!” she exclaims sarcastically. 

She can hear Adora laughing behind her. “He’s just gonna keep shooting arrows through the door if you don’t meet up with him.” 

“Good thing I’m an expert problem solver.” she responds triumphantly, shutting the balcony doors loudly behind her. She makes a b-line for the bed and practically pounces back on Adora. Shrieks of laughter fill the room as Catra squeezes her hips and kisses along her neck. 

_**TWISH** _

**THUCK**

Catra lets out a long, miserable moan, rolling off Adora in defeat. Turning her head in Catra’s direction, Adora gives her a lopsided smile. “He’s not gonna give up.” she sings.

“How has no one penetrated a castle with wide open windows yet?” Catra grumbles, already up and headed over to the window the arrow came through. Bow is looking up at her from the grass below. He’s got a charming smile plastered on his face and a bow in each hand. She thinks he looks dumb. “Would you quit shooting arrows at us! I’m coming down.” 

Adora has an amused smile stuck across her face. A few strands of hair are falling out of her ponytail, framing her face. Her cheeks are a little flushed. Catra takes pride in knowing she’s the one responsible for that. 

“I’ll meet up with you in a few hours, okay?” she turns away from Adora before getting changed. The blonde is sitting up in her bed, knees pulled up to her chest and arms wrapped around them. Adora’s eyes stay on Catra as she gets dressed. It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before. Growing up in the Horde there was very little privacy, she’s seen all of her teammates change hundreds of times. With Catra now, it's different. She thinks it might have always been a little different. Adora watches her arms lift the soft cotton of her t-shirt over her head, slowly exposing the stripes on her back one by one. She’s always felt a pull towards Catra, an attraction, and now that they’re together Adora is coming to realize there’s so much more they can do, so much more they can feel with each other. She wants it all with her. 

Catra gets her normal clothes on and heads towards her, reaching down to give her a lingering kiss. Adora doesn’t want Catra to go right now, wants to keep her in bed and keep kissing her senseless until  _ something _ happens. It fills her stomach with excitement and curiosity like she’s never felt before. 

Just as Catra breaks the kiss, Adora grabs at the front of her top and pulls her back to meet her lips again. She kisses her slowly, savoring the feeling of Catra’s soft lips encasing her own. 

After a moment she pulls back and Catra lets out a low whine. 

“See you later.” Adora says slowly. 

Catra groans, huffing a bit as she turns and leaves. She’s already dreaming of a house in the deepest part of the Whispering Woods far away from a single living person. 

**+++**

A few days have passed since Bow interrupted them and Catra feels like she’s going a bit crazy. She’s aware she’s wanted a lot in life. She’s wanted to be force captain, to rise up through the ranks in the Horde, and to rule Etheria. She’s wanted to hurt Adora like she hurt her and she’s wanted to hurt her friends even more. More recently she’s wanted to be less angry, to work at being a better friend, and for Adora to be safe and happy. Her desires have been fluctuating rapidly through the years. But right now, she really just wants Glimmer and Bow out of the picture for a few days. 

She and Adora spend hours lounging in the gardens, sparring on the Great Lawn, and stuffing their faces with new foods, all without a peep from the queen and archer. But the  _ second _ they start to feel that charged energy between them ignite for a physical connection, the other two are suddenly in dire need for their presence. Catra rarely misses the Fright Zone, but at least there, commanding officers were guaranteed hours of privacy. Doors had locks, windows were closed, and none of the cadets could teleport. 

It’s a warm day in Bright Moon. All the days since kissing Adora for the first time have felt warm. Adora had insisted on the two of them going for a dip in the pool in her room. They’re both in their swimming cloths, although Catra’s is going to waste.

She is sitting at the edge of the water, only her legs immersed as she makes little kicking motions back and forth. She’s watching Adora dive in and out of the shallow pond looking for a coin Catra had just thrown. They’ve been playing this game for a few rounds. Adora lays her head on Catra’s lap, eyes closed, as Catra flings the gold coin to a random part of the pool for Adora to find and retrieve. Laying on Catra’s lap didn’t seem necessary at first but it only took one round of Catra making a splashing sound with her toe without actually throwing the coin for Adora to trap her legs for the next few rounds. 

Catra’s thrown the coin as close to the waterfall as she could get this time. Hoping the rushing water would make it harder for Adora to find. She watches as Adora pops in and out of the water in short spurts, coming up empty handed. Her tongue sticks out between the side of her lips in concentration. 

“Catraaaaa!” Adora calls from a few feet away. “Where’d you throw it? I can’t find it.” 

“Are you admitting I won this round?” 

“No! I just need a hint.”

Catra smirks. “You’re getting warmer.” 

Adora takes two steps to the left.

“Colder.”

Four steps to the right. 

“A little warmer.” 

Catra entertains her with hints until Adora sees the gleam of the coin flicker from under the rushing water. She dives down, grabs the gold, and swims back over to Catra without coming up for air. 

She holds the coin up to Catra victoriously. “Ha! Found it!” 

“You wanna play again?”

“Nah.” she states, discarding the coin on the floor. “I want you to join me.” Adora pulls at Catra’s ankles softly. Catra lets out a playful shriek as she kicks back half heartedly, splashing a little water at Adora’s face. She should be totally opposed to cooperating and letting Adora drag her into the pool. Water freaks her out, it's an uncontrollable force of nature.

She stares at the stillness of the pond, the edges of the water all in her line of sight, and Adora hands wrapped around her ankles. She’s looking up at her in a gentle plea. 

It suddenly feels quieter in the palace and she remembers why. It was one of Bow’s brother’s birthday so he was at his dads’ home in the woods and Glimmer was at Salineas for the afternoon. 

“Fine.” Catra mumbles. “Just..let me get in on my own. I don’t want my ears to get wet.” 

Adora beams at her, backing up a bit. Catra slips into the pool cautiously. It's the perfect temperature, warmth surrounds her. She’s looking down unsurely at the water with every step, like the water level might rise and swallow her up, or something below might drag her down. When she stands, the water only rises to her stomach and she takes a few slow steps towards Adora, her tail swaying back and forth below the surface. 

Catra doesn’t realize she’s got her hands out in front of her until Adora takes them in her own. She pulls her closer, foreheads meeting. Catra’s nerves quickly fade. 

“Hi.” Adora whispers. 

“Hi.” Catra answers. 

Adora kisses her and then steps back. 

She fires a strong splash directly at Catra, water raining down on her. “That’s for leaving me without a taser staff during our defense midterm.”

Catra lets out an indignant scream, immediately countering with a series of rapid, smaller splashes in Adora’s direction. “That was  _ years _ ago! We were junior cadets!”

Adora laughs as she holds her arms out, trying to block some of Catra’s splashes and sending a few more her way. “Yeah, well  _ now _ we’re even.” 

A low growl comes out of Catra before she pounces on Adora, clinging to her. Adora immediately catches her, lifting her legs to fit comfortably around her hips. Catra crosses her arms around Adora’s neck, eyes narrowing on her as she continues laughing.

Adora gives them a quick spin, lowering them into the water as she twirls them around so it's up to their shoulders. Catra’s half annoyed eyes have softened the longer she watches Adora giggle to herself. 

“Happy?” Catra asks.

Adora sighs. She meets Catra’s eyes. “Yeah. I really am.” She leans forward to touch their foreheads together again. 

Catra hesitates, just for a moment. “Me too.” As natural as it feels to say things to Adora, starting her sentences sometimes still feels foreign. Maybe she still struggles with feeling like she deserves this. “I’m really happy too.” 

Adora smiles into their kiss. She grabs at the skin and fur on Catra’s thighs as she chases the feeling of her wet lips. Catra’s cupping the back of her head, the claws on her thumb gently flicking at her ear lobes and she doesn’t know why but it's driving her a little wild. She can’t believe how quickly it takes her to want all of Catra. 

Their kisses heat up. Catra  _ hates _ the pool but she’s finding out she really  _ loves _ the feeling of Adora’s skin under her palms, supple and soft from being in the water for so long. Her pace is easy kissing Adora, letting their lips meet slowly each time. She takes her lower lip between her teeth and pulls, then sucks. It gets her a low moan out of Adora and Catra feels the tips of her ears heat up. She takes a moment to stop kissing Adora and look down at her work. Adora’s lips are red and puffy. Her eyes open to meet Catra’s and they’re glazed over. 

Catra wiggles a bit and Adora knows what she wants. She drops her and Catra immediately takes Adora’s free hands in her own, placing them on her hips. 

Catra bites her lip a little. She’s nervous but is desperately trying to hide that from Adora. “Touch me.” she says. It's not a command. It sounds more like a question coming from her lips. 

Adora nods eagerly and attaches her mouth back on Catras. She gives her hips a squeeze and her hands start exploring upwards. Everywhere that Adora touches leaves a burning sensation on Catra, in the best way. Her open palms travel from her torso, up her ribs, and finally reach her breast. Suddenly their tongues are tied together and Adora has a hand cupping her. She moans into the next kiss. 

Adora squeezes her and caresses her thumb back and forth eagerly. Catra’s never had anyone touch her there and the fact that it’s  _ Adora _ is making her crazy. 

“Does that feel good?” Adora asks in wonder. She glances down at Catra’s mouth, which is open in a slight pucker. Words are a little hard to come by for Catra at the moment but she manages a breathy “Yeah.” 

Adora leans down to start sucking a mark into Catra’s neck. She’s hyper focused on Catra feeling good she thinks she might do literally anything for her in this moment. Catra quickly realizes her kisses are traveling downward. Soon, Adora’s lips are on the fur covering her collarbones. All the while she’s squeezing and rubbing and pinching around her breast.

“You can take it off.” 

Adora looks up at her. There’s a deep blush across Catra’s face. 

“My top, I mean. You can take it off. If you want.” She closes her eyes, mentally pinching herself for sounding so shy. 

Adora nods. Yeah, she wants that. 

There’s only two buttons in the back. Catra hides her face in Adora’s neck as she gets to unbuttoning them. It’s not shedding clothes in front of Adora that’s got her mouth going dry and her heart skipping a beat. It’s letting Adora be the one to undress her. It's intimate and she’s never let anyone do this. 

Adora’s got the fabric loose from both buttons but notices Catra’s ears twitch as she goes to pull the cloth off her. 

“Adora!” Glimmer shouts her name as soon as she’s fully teleported into her bedroom. 

Catra jumps off Adora and quickly realizes her top is loose. She lets out a high squawk and sinks below the water to her shoulders. 

“Glimmer!” Adora shouts back in surprise. Her hands are frantically trying to find a new place now that they’re not all over Catra. They land awkwardly on her hips. 

Glimmer makes her way to the pool. “Mermista needs She-ra to move some heavy pillars-” she stops when she sees Catra next to her in the water. “Oh, were you two going for a swim or something?”

“Or something.” Catra mumbles, sinking a little lower in the water and letting out a frustrated groan. It makes bubbles in front of her nose. 

“Sorry- It’s just Mermista really wants to rearrange the front entrance to the palace and it would be so much easier with She-Ra.”

Adora steps in front of Catra, attempting to shield her, knowing she’s just as red as she is right now. “Uh, Glimmer that doesn’t really sound like a ‘She-ra’ emergency.” 

“I know!” she clarifies. “I just thought it might be a good excuse to show off the new She-ra outfit, you know it will drive Mermista  _ crazy _ . Please?”

Adora exhales. “Glimmer, Catra and I we’re in the middle of something I just-”

Glimmer interrupts her. “What? That coin game you guys play? Come on, Adora, don’t you wanna give that sword a stretch?” she starts to swing an imaginary sword back and forth. 

“If it were any other time. Literally.  _ Any _ other time. I would.” 

Glimmer closes her fists in frustration. “Ugh, okay. Fine.” She disappears in a flurry of glitter and lights. 

Adora turns around to find Catra glaring up at her. She doesn’t say anything but Adora knows what she means. 

“I  _ did _ talk to her, I swear! But it’s gonna take some time, babe. She’s used to just teleporting in here whenever she wants.” Adora defends. 

“Don’t ‘babe’ me, while I’m mad. I told you, I’m still on the fence with the pet names.” 

Adora gives her a smirk. She moves towards her in the water, lowering herself to take her hips in her hands. “Come on. Let me make you...not mad. Sugarcup.”

“Ew  _ what _ ?” Catra shrieks. “No, never.” she feigns annoyance until Adora starts kissing her again. 

Then, Glimmer appears again, hands already in a begging pose. “Come on, please?” she gives Adora a pout.

Adora is caught off guard by her again and pushes herself off Catra. She throws her head back in frustration. “Glimmer! No!” 

“Okay! Fine! I’ll be on the sparring lawn practicing then. Mermista doesn’t need my help anymore.” She teleports out of the room again. A few seconds later they can hear targets shattering from beams of energy below the window. 

Adora sinks low into the warm water. 

“The mood’s gone, you realize that, right?” Catra starts to make her way out of the water, buttoning her top as she rises. She’s going to take it back off to change in a few minutes, but she wants to punctuate Adora’s loss. 

“Yeah, I know.” Adora dips her whole body to cool herself down. 


End file.
